


Brothers Dearest

by TheTurtleFromHell



Category: Blood of Zeus (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Brothers, Emotional Baggage, Gen, Mentions of Rape, References to Ancient Greek Religion & Lore, Trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-10
Updated: 2020-11-10
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:55:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27483838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheTurtleFromHell/pseuds/TheTurtleFromHell
Summary: After the dust has settled, Ares is confronted by the brothers he betrayed.
Comments: 30
Kudos: 213





	Brothers Dearest

**Author's Note:**

> THIS IS MY 100TH FIC!!!  
> I just want to say thank you to all my readers over the years, your kudos and comments have certainly brightened up my life and motivated me to keep writing. I am honored to share my work with you all <3  
> With that said, onto the fic!!

Ares knew he was more than fortunate to avoid punishment by the other gods. Still, he did not like the pitiful glances that remained locked on him wherever he went. He knew they were all thinking the same thing, that they thought he was a mama’s boy just doing what she wanted and lost both parents as a cost of her vengeance.

He wanted so badly just to tell everyone off, wished they would punish him instead of granting mercy out of pity.

So he found refuge in a room in one of the towers, still able to watch what was going on without being among the others. He watched as the gods slowly began to rebuild, watched as Apollo healed and tended to Heron’s wound until the mortal was stable, watched as Hermes sped around aiding where it was needed and relaying messages between the gods, watched as a golden statue of his father was erected while Hera’s name suddenly became taboo to say.

Which meant it was going to be the way it always was, with Zeus as the hero and his mother as the villain. A jealous old hag who didn’t want happiness for her husband, even when Zeus himself had claimed responsibility for the war. It was like being surrounded by people with selective amnesia who looked at you like you were a crazy one.

One day, the doors to the room opened and Hermes and Apollo walked inside. Great, more crazy people to deal with.

“Why are you here?” he asks, arms folded across his chest.

Hermes and Apollo exchange an unsure glance, the messenger god speaking first “We haven’t seen you in a while, we were worried.” he says.

“I just needed time to myself is all.” he replies (technically it is the truth), “How is Heron?”

“Healing,” Apollo says, “Mortal bodies are a bit more finicky to work with, but I managed to stop all the bleeding and work some magic on him. He needs rest, but he’ll survive.” 

“I see.” he hums in thought, “Why have you really come here?”

Apollo frowned, “I thought we already told you-”

“Don’t mock my intelligence.” he scoffs, “The two of you would love nothing more than to rub your victory in my face.”

“Are, are you being serious?” the sun god asked in disbelief, only for Hermes to hold a hand for him to stop.

“What Apollo means to say is that there is no ulterior motive.” he says matter of factly, “We are trying to extend an olive branch to you, and we would appreciate it if you made an effort to accept it.”

“And why would you do that?” the war god inquires, “Why would you want anything to do with me after I pummeled you both to near death, after I sided against you and nearly toppled Olympus?”

“Because we’re brothers!” Apollo shouts as if it is so obvious.

Ares scoffed and rolled his eyes, “Ridiculous.” he mutters. 

The sun god seems to take great offense to that as his expression betrays his angers, “Are you incapable of being anything other than a thick-headed uncaring brute!?”

“And there it is!” he laughs mirthlessly, applauding the outburst, “I knew you were hiding your real feelings!”

“Oh, I’m just getting started, you son of a-!”

“Alright, both of you calm down!” Hermes intervenes, putting himself between the two, “Apollos, control yourself! And Ares, please try to understand-”

“No! You don’t understand, none of you understand!” he snapped, “Ever since I was a boy, I had to be the one there for her! I had to be the one wiping her tears and holding her close as she wondered why we weren’t enough for him, why I wasn’t enough for him to remain faithful!”

Apollo’s anger falters as both he and Hermes are taken aback, as if they had never even considered the other side of Zeus’ infidelity. The thought that they had never even considered what it had meant to Ares only served to fuel his raging diatribe, “Every single one of you bastards and harlots sucked up to him and got rewarded for it while I was just a reminder of his miserable marriage! While I had to stand in his court, follow his orders and laws and act like I still had respect for him for the sake of keeping peace and had to tolerate bastards like you making a joke of my mother and I!”

Something in Apollo’s eyes changes then, a sort of hurt that quickly changes into a fury that Ares had never seen in the sun god before that nearly sends shivers down his spine.

“I know Zeus has done wrong, I know he has ruined more lives than can be counted, but it’s not our fucking fault!” he says, glowing bright with the flames of anger tenfold of what it was before, “Tell me, did I ever once treat you less for any of your mother’s misdeeds!? Did I stop speaking to you when she caused Hercules to murder his wife and children, did I refuse to look you in the eyes when she killed Semele and nearly killed her unborn child as well!?”

“Apollo-!” Hermes tried futility to intervene, but the floodgates had already been opened.

“Or how about when she sent Tityos to rape my mother,  _ my own mother _ , and Artemis and I had to save her as she was pinned down and her clothes torn off of her!?” he continues, voice rising as he cites each misdeed, “But never once did I think less of you for it, because they were not your sins! And yet you walk around here like me and Hermes and every other child of his made the choice to be born and ruin their marriage! For years I have bit my tongue each time you called one of us ‘bastards’ and scowled at us, because you’re my brother and I love you! Every day for millennia I hoped that each time I saw you would be the time you let go of your grudges! But now…” his voice drops to a trembling whisper, the flames around him dying out and leaving only scorched marble where they once burned, “Now I see that you’re still the same spiteful asshole as always, so you know what? You never have to worry about being brothers with a bastard like me again, because I disown you.”

Ares felt the words knock the wind out of him more than a hit from a giant ever did. Disownment between gods was seldom an empty threat, an extremely serious and rare move to make. 

“Apollo, wait,” he protested, reaching out to him. The sun god simply smacked his hand away and turned away with a flip of his cape, walking away without so much as a glance back. 

Ares stumbles back until he feels himself bump into the chair, then sat and held his head in his hands.

Hermes looks at the ground as he speaks, “He only said that because he’s angry. He’ll burn out eventually.”

Ares sighs, “No he didn’t, those weren’t words he’s came up with in the moment. He’s been meaning to say that for a long time, and I just gave him the reason he needed.”

The messenger god opened his mouth to protest, but ultimately came up with nothing.

“... why did you save me?” he asks again, “Didn’t some part of you wish to see me fall, to suffer and pay for all the destruction I've wrought?"

Hermes looks to him, then down at his bracer as he runs his fingers along the edge of it, “I would be lying if I said I hadn’t considered that I would have to fight you during the war, perhaps even kill you if you hadn’t relented. The thought of doing it pained me, but such is war.” he confesses, “But when I saw you under that giant’s foot I saw the fear in your eyes and you weren’t an enemy in that moment. Perhaps it’s selfish, but I don’t think I could have lived with myself if I hadn’t saved you.”

Ares chuckles dryly, “A good thing your selfishness turned out in my favor.”

Hermes smiles a bit at that, then sighs, “I know the war has driven us apart, that even before then our relationship was tolerant at most. I just think that we all deserve better than the life we’d been living.”

“If only it was so simple.” he laments, “You of all people know relenting is not in my nature.”

“Then don’t think of it as relenting.” he says, “Think of this as a battle for a better future. You can either surrender to the past, or find victory on the other side, however it may look to you.” he places a hand on his shoulder, “Good luck with him, brother.”

And with that, he put his helmet on and sped off, leaving Ares alone with his thoughts.

* * *

Apollo’s horses did not need brushing. They were always perfect and pristine, and their manes of fire demanded no upkeep. Still, he would find himself brushing their white fur, the action soothing to both horse and god.

Suddenly, the stall doors opened. The horses raised their heads towards the guest but Apollo, having sensed his brother’s presence coming closer, kept his eyes cast forward and simply continued with his brushing.

“Apollo.” Ares says, trying to get his brother to look at him.

The blonde is silent for a moment before asking flatly “Is there official business between us that needs tending to?”

“No,” he says, “But-”

“Then go.” the sun god demands, fingers tightening around the brush ever so slightly, “I will only tolerate your presence if it is required of me, otherwise I want nothing to do with you.”

His words are sharp, whittled to a point and crafted to strike at Are’s heart just like his arrows. Ares considers leaving for a moment, but reminds himself that he has never backed down from a fight before and he wasn’t starting now.

“I remember when Father brought me to see you for the first time, you know.”

Apollo freezes at that, but still doesn’t look in his direction.

“You don’t remember it because you were only a baby.” he continues, “Father told me I was to have a brother and sister. I wasn’t sure what to expect, I was more than nervous when I was brought to Delos, but when I laid eyes on you and her I felt nothing but love for you both. I held you in my arms all day, and Leto laughed and told me you would never learn to walk because I seemed intent on carrying you everywhere with me.”

When he looks up, he finds Apollo stares at him solemnly, “What changed?”

“Mother found out, of course.” Ares sighs, “She was furious. She told me Father was tricking me, trying to get me to approve of his illegitimate children. Their marriage was already in shambles at that point, and I didn’t want to do anything that would push them further apart.”

“I… see.” is all his brother says, though the two words carry a sense of tragic understanding.

“The blame for my actions is not hers though. It is mine.” he admits, “I am my mother’s son. Our anger is unforgiving and relentless, it keeps us awake at night and desperate to make those who caused it pay, and because Father is… was king and therefore untouchable, we lash out at those undeserving of our wrath and become blind to the pain it causes.”

The sun god says nothing, remaining stoic as his brother walks to him, his ruby red eyes staring into his amber gold ones with a deep sadness, “I don’t ask for your forgiveness, because I know I am undeserving of it. However if there is a way to make it up to you, something that would unburden you of your anger towards me, I will do it.” 

Apollo is shocked by what comes next, can hardly believe his own eyes when his brother, strong and proud and prideful, kneels on the floor of the barn and bows his head, “Whatever you ask of me, however long it may take, wherever it takes me I will do it without question.”

Ares hates this, hates having to kneel and grovel before his brother just for the chance at the tiniest bit of redemption. But it was as Hermes had said, this was a battle, and if his ego took a few blows and his pride some wounds then so be it, for he was never one to shy away from the pain of battle.

He’s not quite sure what he had expected, but the sun god sinking to his knees and gently lifting his head by the chin was definitely not it. 

Apollo smiles, genuine, warm and radiant like the sun itself, “You apologized, and that means more to me than any wild quest could hope to do.” he says in a soft airy voice, wrapping his arms around his brother. The war god tenses at first, unused to such gestures.

The last time Ares had laid hands on his brother without it being a spar or fight had been at that first meeting, when he held his week old sibling in his arms and looked into his golden eyes, feeling nothing but love for the tiny thing.

And though now his brother was grown he once more took him in his arms and embraced him, swearing to himself that he would be the type of brother he had wanted to be long ago.


End file.
